Ask a Farmer
Q: Do you find wildlife impacts your farming operation?
Wildlife can damage crops during the growing season; however, the damage is usually minimal. Majority of damage occurs when grain is stored in grain bags and wildlife opens the bag causing the grain to be exposed to the elements.
– Janine Paly, AWC director from Thorhild, AB.
Q: How can I tell the difference between a wheat crop and barley crop in the field?
Most often the easiest way to tell the difference between wheat and barley crops in the field is by looking at its awns (long hair-like stems coming from the head of the plant). Barley usually has much longer awns, reaching up to 1 inch compared to wheat awns which reach about ¼ of an inch in length. Some wheat varieties have no awns at all making them easier to identify
Also, when the plants are ready for harvest, wheat is a golden brown in colour, while barely is more of a yellow-white tone.
– Jeremy Boychyn, Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions, MSc, P.Ag
Q: How do you sell your wheat?
Farmers often sell their grain to the closest elevator in their area by the tonne via a grain hauling truck. These elevators are located through the province and often are close to railway tracks to get it to the coast for export.
Q: How does weather impact your harvest?
Weather can greatly impact our harvest – depending on what type of weather with determine how severe. For instance, many parts of the Prairies experience both rain and snow events numerous times during the fall months.
These types of events can delay harvest since the wheat seed needs to be a certain moisture for farmers to harvest. If the kernel has a higher moisture content, the farmer must make the choice of waiting for warmer weather to dry the kernel or harvest and use a type of machine to dry the kernel to the correct moisture content.
Another impact of snow and rain is a decrease in crop grade. When a crop is degraded this can result in a lower price for crop commodity – thus a lower profit for the farmer.
– Janine Paly, AWC director from Thorhild, AB.
Q: How long does it take to grow wheat?
Typically, spring wheat takes a minimum of 90 days to reach full maturity, but most farmers wait for the 100-day mark to ensure the plant has gotten enough sunlight.
– Jeremy Boychyn, Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions, MSc, P.Ag
Q: How many loaves of bread can be made out of one bushel of wheat?
70 one- pound loaves of bread are made from one bushel of wheat. One bushel of wheat yields approximately 60 pounds of whole-wheat flour.
– Kansas Wheat website (www.kswheat.com)
Q: How much wheat is grown in Alberta each year?
Approximately 6 – 7 million tonnes of wheat is produced on more than 7 million acres every year. It is a significant agricultural crop in Alberta.
– Statistics Canada, Table 32-10-0007-01
Q: How much wheat is grown in Canada each year?
Canada is the world’s sixth-largest producer and one of the largest exporters of wheat, annually producing an average of over 30 million tonnes and exporting around 18 million tonnes of wheat across the globe.
– Statistics Canada, Table 32-10-0007-01 and Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database, Table 980-0010
Q: How much wheat is in one bushel?
One bushel equals 60 pounds of wheat or approximately one million wheat kernels.
– Kansas Wheat website (www.kswheat.com)
Q: Roughly, when do you seed and when do you harvest?
In Alberta, seeding and harvesting times can differ by about a month or so. But for central Alberta, farmers are out seeding in mid-to-late April and harvesting begins in August. For northern Alberta farmers, they usually begin seeding during the first few weeks of May and the crop finishes and is ready for harvest in early September. As for southern Alberta, seeding begins in early April and harvest their harvest starts in early August.
– Jeremy Boychyn, Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions, MSc, P.Ag
Q: What else do you grow?
In modern agriculture, many farmers have adopted a four-crop rotation sequence which in Alberta, often includes pulses, barley and canola. However, some farmers rotate in flax, soybeans or oats to add more variety to their operation. Rotating crops every year helps to promote soil health.
Q: What is the most common type of wheat grown in Alberta?
Canadian Western Red Spring (CWRS) is the most popular grown wheat in Canada, around 60% of annual production, due to it high protein content. Canada is known around the world for its high-quality wheat, with CWRS in particular being hailed for its superior milling and baking quality.
– Canadian Wheat Website (www.canadianwheat.ca) – developed by Cereals Canada, Canadian Grain Commission and Canadian International Grains Institute
Q: What is your favourite time of the growing season?
My favorite time of the growing season is a few weeks after seeding as taken place. This is when the crop is still at a young growth stage therefore when I scout the field for pests my children can walk beside me learning and observing.
– Janine Paly, AWC director from Thorhild, AB.
Q: What's the best way to store flour?
1. Place your flour in the freezer for 48 hours.
2. Transfer it to a food-grade container (plastic or glass) with a tight-sealing lid.
3. Store flour in a cool, dry place away from sunlight for up to six months.
Q: Where can I buy harvested wheat that has not been milled into flour?
You can purchase un-milled wheat, aka, the true whole grain, at your local grocery store and bulk store. They are often found in the natural section and can be called wheat berries, kernels or seeds.